Method and system for providing and administering online rental vehicle reservation booking services

ABSTRACT

A system and method is disclosed herein for customizing pages of a rental vehicle reservation booking website with deep-links for specialized rental vehicle reservations. The specialized rental vehicle reservations may comprise reservations for a division of a customer entity and/or promotional offer reservations. Multi-division and multi-offer pages can also be defined for the website through an administrative tool.

CROSS-REFERENCE AND PRIORITY CLAIM TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/377,811, filed Mar. 16, 2006, entitled “Method and Systemfor Providing and Administering Online Rental Vehicle ReservationBooking Services”, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,271,309, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

The following pending patent applications are related to thisdisclosure: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/039,203, filed Jan. 20,2005, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Improved Customer DirectOn-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles”, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/505,685, filed Aug. 25, 2004, entitled “Method and Apparatus forCustomer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles IncludingDeep-Linking”, PCT patent application PCT/US03/18553, filed Jun. 13,2003, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Customer Direct On-LineReservation of Rental Vehicles Including Deep-Linking”, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/172,481, filed Jun. 14, 2002, entitled “Methodand Apparatus for Customer Direct On-Line Reservation of RentalVehicles”, the entire disclosures of all of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to the field of providing andadministering a website that allows users to book rental vehiclereservations online.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Internet technology has transformed the manner in which rental vehicleservice providers do business with their customers. However, due to theimpersonal nature of the Internet, a need exists in the art for rentalvehicle service providers to increasingly personalize and streamlinetheir reservation booking websites to meet customers' varied needs anddesires.

Toward this end, the commonly-owned related patent applicationsreferenced above disclosed a variety of deep-linking techniques throughwhich users can directly jump into a reservation booking website whilebypassing some form of data entry for a reservation. The presentinvention builds upon these deep-linking concepts to provide adeep-linking experience that is highly personalized to individualcustomers.

With these deep-links, some characteristic of a rental vehiclereservation is pre-selected. The pre-selected characteristic(s) for thedeep-linked reservation can be any aspect of the rental vehiclereservation that a user would typically need to provide to the rentalvehicle service provider to book and/or open a booked rental vehiclereservation. Examples of such reservation characteristics include any ofthe following, either singly or in combination with one or more othercharacteristics: a pick-up location (or range of eligible pick-uplocations selected from all possible pick-up locations) for thereservation, a drop-off location (or range of eligible drop-offlocations selected from all possible drop-off locations) for thereservation, a starting date (or range of eligible starting datesselected from all possible starting dates) for the reservation, anending date (or range of eligible ending dates selected from allpossible ending dates) for the reservation, a vehicle type (or range ofeligible vehicle types selected from all possible vehicle types) for thereservation, a rate for the reservation (or range of eligible ratesdepending upon other reservation characteristics selected by the user),a collision/damage protection product (or range of eligiblecollision/damage protection products selected from all possibleprotection products—e.g., collision and damage waivers, damage waivers,personal accident insurance, supplemental liability protection, personaleffects coverage, etc.), and an ancillary vehicle product (or range ofeligible ancillary vehicle products selected from all possible ancillaryvehicle products) for the reservation (e.g., a car seat, ski rack,etc.), a customer profile with which the reservation is to beassociated, and the like. It should be noted that this pre-selection caninclude a restriction of options for a given reservation characteristicfrom a wider range of options for that characteristic (e.g., thepre-selection comprising a restriction on the branch location for areservation from all possible branch locations to a lesser range ofbranch locations such as only branch locations in the St. Louismetropolitan area).

According to one aspect of the present invention, a customer for whichthe website maintains a customer profile may be an entity such as abusiness entity (e.g. corporation or other business organization) orgovernmental entity (e.g., state government, county government,city/municipal government, governmental agency, etc.). That entity maycomprise numerous units, each with its own unique rental vehicle needs.The term “division” will be used herein to refer to such separatelyclassifiable rental vehicle needs of the customer entity. For example,XYZ Corporation may have a sales division located in Los Angeles, acorporate headquarters division located in St. Louis, and a research anddevelopment division located in Boston. Through the present invention,division-specific deep-links can be set up for these divisions bydefining the pre-selected reservation characteristic(s) for eachdivision and storing these characteristics in a customer profile for thepertinent entity. However, it should be noted that these divisions neednot be discrete physically or logically separate units of a businessentity as in the example above. For example, a single unit of a businessentity may have separately classifiable rental needs in terms ofdifferent locations where a recurring need for a rental vehiclereservations exist, different vehicle types for which there is arecurring reservation need, etc.

Through one aspect of the present invention, the differentdivision-specific deep-links for a customer entity can be groupedtogether for inclusion on one or more multiple deep-link pages. Uniformresource locator(s) (URLs) for the multiple deep-link page(s) can thenbe provided to the customer entity to streamline and personalize thecustomer's ability to book rental vehicle reservations through therental vehicle service provider's website. A plurality of multipledeep-link pages that are customized to a customer profile's multipledivisions can also be nested together such that a link on one multipledeep-link page serves as a link to another multiple deep-link page.

When a multiple deep-link page is displayed on a user computer, the usercan then select one of the listed deep-links to advance to a deep-linkedpage of the website, thereby streamlining the user's path through thewebsite. A “deep-linked page” is a page on which the user lands afterselecting a deep-link. The deep-linked page is an intermediate page ofthe website that the user would normally have to reach after providingsome form of input starting from the website's home page (e.g., a“Choose Vehicle Type” page that would normally be reached after userentry on the home page of location data and temporal data for areservation). A “deep-link page” is a page having a user-selectabledeep-link displayed thereon. A “multiple deep-link page” is a pagehaving a plurality of user-selectable deep-links displayed thereon. Ininstances where one of the deep-links on a multiple deep-link page is adeep-link to another multiple deep-link page, the another multipledeep-link page also serves as a deep-linked page.

According to another aspect of the invention, disclosed herein is anadministrative tool for use by an administrator of the rental vehiclereservation booking website to efficiently control the deep-linkssupported by the website for a plurality of specialized rental vehiclereservations. A rental vehicle reservation that is created through thisdeep-linking process can be thought of as a “specialized” rental vehiclereservation in that one or more characteristics of the rental vehiclereservation has been defined in advance. This stands in contrast toconventional rental vehicle reservations that would be created by ageneral visitor to the website who creates a rental vehicle reservationfrom scratch. Specialized rental vehicle reservations whosecharacteristics can be administratively controlled by the presentinvention include the customer profile division reservations discussedabove as well as promotional offer rental vehicle reservations. Throughthis administrative tool, an administrator can access a plurality ofgraphical user interfaces (GUIs) through which the administrator candefine specified characteristics of the specialized reservations andstore the defined reservation characteristics in a profiles for thespecialized rental vehicle reservations. The administrative tool canalso allow the administrator to define uniform resource locators (URLs)for deep-links associated with these specialized rental vehiclereservations, and define customized content to be displayed on thedeep-linked pages corresponding to the specialized reservation'sdeep-links. Upon user selection of these deep-links URLs, the user'sreservation can be automatically populated with the pre-selectedcharacteristics stored in the specialized reservation profilecorresponding to that deep-link.

Through these GUIs, the pre-selected reservation characteristics (or theranges therefor) can be positively defined or negatively defined. Forexample, to positively define that Branch Location A is to be used asthe pick-up location for a particular deep-linked reservation, anadministrator can positively define Branch Location A as a pre-selectedcharacteristic by selecting Branch Location A, or an administrator cannegatively define Branch Location A as a pre-selected characteristic byexcluding all branch locations other than Branch Location A from thepre-selected characteristic. While it is generally preferred thatpositive definitions of pre-selected characteristics be used for reasonsof data keying convenience, in some instances a negative definition maybe more convenient.

Thus, via this administrative tool, a rental vehicle service providercan create a customized website experience for its customers in afraction of the time it would have previously taken to provide customerswith such an experience. Furthermore, because of the user-friendlynature of the administrative GUIs, the administrator need not be highlyknowledgeable with respect to software coding or Internet websitedesign, thereby opening up the role of administrator to a variety ofpeople who can then efficiently serve requests from customers regardinghow to personalize those customers' experiences with the website.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon review of theteachings in the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system architecture for a preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred deep-linking concept employed by apreferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating processing flow from a multi-divisionpage;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary multi-division page;

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary deep-linked page reached after selection ofa deep-link on the multi-division page of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 depicts another exemplary multi-division page;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary deep-linked page reached after selection ofa deep-link on the multi-division page of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 depicts yet another exemplary multi-division page;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary high level flow diagram for the process ofcreating and administering customer profile-based deep-links andmulti-division pages;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary GUI page providing an administrator with anoverview of existing customer profile divisions;

FIGS. 11( a) and (b) depict an exemplary GUI page for summarizing theadministrative settings for a customer profile division;

FIGS. 12( a)-(c) depict an exemplary GUI page for administrative controlof various general settings for a customer profile division;

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary GUI page for administrative control ofvarious vehicle type settings for a customer profile division;

FIGS. 14( a)-(c) depict an exemplary GUI page for administrative controlof various optional content settings for a customer profile division;

FIGS. 15( a), 15(b) and 16 depict exemplary GUI pages for administrativecontrol of various image settings for a customer profile division;

FIG. 17 is an exemplary high level flow diagram for the process ofcreating and administering a multi-division page for a customer profile;

FIGS. 18( a) and (b) depict exemplary multi-division page creationoverview GUI pages;

FIGS. 19( a)-(c) depict exemplary GUI pages for administrative controlof a customer profile multi-division page;

FIG. 20 depicts an exemplary GUI page displayed after an administratorhas activated a multi-division page;

FIG. 21 is an exemplary high level flow diagram for the process ofcreating and administering promotional offer deep-links and multi-offerpages;

FIG. 22 is an exemplary GUI page providing an administrator with anoverview of existing promotional offers;

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary GUI page for administrative control ofvarious general settings for a promotional offer;

FIGS. 24( a)-(g) depict exemplary GUI pages for administrative controlof various date settings for different promotional offer types;

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary GUI page for administrative control ofvarious blackout date settings for a promotional offer;

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary GUI page for administrative control ofvarious vehicle type settings for a promotional offer;

FIGS. 27( a) and (b) depict an exemplary GUI page for administrativecontrol of various message content settings for a promotional offer;

FIGS. 28( a), 28(b) and 29 depict exemplary GUI pages for administrativecontrol of various image settings for a promotional offer;

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary GUI page for administrative control ofvarious other settings for a promotional offer;

FIGS. 31( a)-(c) depict an exemplary GUI page for summarizing theadministrative settings for a promotional offer;

FIG. 32 depicts an exemplary GUI page for creating duplicate promotionaloffers;

FIGS. 33 and 34 depict exemplary promotional offer overview pagesfollowing duplication and activation respectively;

FIGS. 35( a) and (b) depict exemplary multi-offer page creation overviewGUI pages;

FIGS. 36( a)-(c) depict exemplary GUI pages for administrative controlof a multi-offer page;

FIG. 37 depicts an exemplary GUI page displayed after an administratorhas activated a multi-offer page;

FIGS. 38 and 39 depict exemplary multi-offer pages; and

FIG. 40 depicts an exemplary home page that has been customized for acustomer through a customer profile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred system architecture for the presentinvention. A plurality of user computers 110 connected to a network 104(such as the Internet) and using web browsing software can access arental vehicle reservation booking website hosted by automatedreservation transaction processing system 150. System 150 can be anycomputer that is network connectable. Preferably, the system 150comprises an application server 100 (or application servers forredundancy purposes) a web server (or servers) 102, and memory unitssuch as a customer/promotional database 108 and a business database 106.The application server 100 (1) interacts with the user computers via webserver(s) 102 to obtain reservation data therefrom, (2) interacts withbusiness database 106 via a connector interface such as Tuxedo, and (3)interacts with a customer/promotional database 108 via a connectorinterface such as JBDC. Business database 106 preferably stores all ofthe data pertaining to the rental vehicle service provider's branchlocations, vehicle inventories, pricing, etc. Customer/promotionaldatabase 108 preferably stores the profiles of any registered customers(including the profiles of any customer entities such as corporations,etc.), and data relating to any rental promotions being offered by thevehicle service provider. However, it should be noted that the datastored in database 106 and 108 can be consolidated into a singledatabase, or further segmented into multiple other databases.

An administrator computer 112 is preferably in communication with thecustomer/promotional database 108 to provide an authorized administratorwith control over the content of database 108, thereby providing theadministrator with control over the promotional offers available throughthe reservation booking website and control over how users associatedwith a customer account experience the reservation booking website.Additional details regarding this administrative control will bedescribed hereinafter.

The reservation booking website hosted by system 150 preferably providesa plurality of user-interactive pages for display on the user computers.These pages preferably interact with users of the user computers toobtain user input regarding a plurality of rental vehicle reservationcharacteristics (e.g., the location where the rental vehiclecorresponding to the rental vehicle reservation is to be picked up,temporal information (e.g., starting/ending dates) for the reservation,the vehicle type (e.g., compact car, full-size car, etc.) for thereservation, renter information (e.g., name, address, etc.), etc.).Preferably, the website will provide a plurality of “paths” throughwhich users can create reservations. As used herein, “path” refers tothe sequence of pages accessed by the user as he/she interacts with thewebsite to create a rental vehicle reservation. For example, one pathwould be for the user to (1) first access a home page of the website,(2) in response to user submission of location and temporal informationfor the reservation through the home page, next access a page thatrequests the user to select a vehicle type for the reservation, (3) inresponse to user submission of a vehicle type for the reservation, nextaccess a page that requests the user to enter renter information, (4) inresponse to user submission of the requested renter information, nextaccess a page that requests the user to verify the submitted reservationcharacteristics to thereby book a reservation in accordance with thosecharacteristics, and (5) in response to user submission of the requestedverification, next access a page that confirms the booked reservation.Another path through the website would be for the user to skip step (3)by accessing a stored customer profile from which the user's renterinformation can be automatically loaded. Any of a variety of other pathsthrough the website can be envisioned by those having ordinary skill inthe art following the teachings herein.

Commonly-owned pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/039,203(filed Jan. 20, 2005 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for ImprovedCustomer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles”), Ser. No.10/505,685 (filed Aug. 25, 2004 and entitled “Method and Apparatus forCustomer Direct On-Line Reservation of Rental Vehicles IncludingDeep-Linking”), and Ser. No. 10/172,481 (filed Jun. 14, 2002 andentitled “Method and Apparatus for Customer Direct On-Line Reservationof Rental Vehicles”), the entire disclosures of each of which areincorporated herein by reference, disclose how such a website can beimplemented, including disclosing the various exemplary pages and pathsthrough a rental vehicle reservation booking website. Among the pagesdescribed in these pending patent applications for use in the website ofthe present invention include a Home (H) page, a Choose Vehicle Type(CV) page, a Choose Location (CL) page, a Renter Information (RI) page,a Verify (V) page, and others.

To streamline a user's path through the website, the Ser. Nos.11/039,203, 10/505,685, and 10/172,481 patent applications describe adeep-linking concept that allows users to directly access a page of thewebsite that would normally be reached after the user has accessedprevious website pages to submit at least one other reservationcharacteristic. FIG. 2 illustrates this concept.

FIG. 2 also illustrates an exemplary navigational structure for areservation booking website. In the example of FIG. 2, the differenttypes of data needed from the user to successfully book a rental vehiclereservation are: (1) temporal data (T)—such as the starting and endingdates for the reservation, (2) location data (L)—such as anidentification of the particular branch of the rental car company fromwhich the user seeks a rental vehicle, and (3) vehicle data (V)—such asthe type of vehicle the user wants to rent (economy, midsize, luxury,etc.). The user can submit values for these data types to the websitevia various paths. Each box 200, 202, and 204 in FIG. 2 represents apage of the website, and the text within each box represents the datatypes for which the page requests data values from the user. Each arrowindicates a submission of data by the user, and the text adjacent eacharrow represents the type(s) of data being submitted. It should be notedthat the variety of paths shown in FIG. 2 is exemplary only—apractitioner of the present invention can choose to implement more orfewer paths in a website based on the practitioner's desires. Forexample, a practitioner of the present invention may wish to add renterinformation to the types of necessary data to complete a rental vehiclereservation.

When entering the website in a conventional fashion through thewebsite's home page (H) 200, the user, depending on his/her desires, caneither submit all data values for all necessary data types to thewebsite via a single data exchange (see the path with the arrow labeledTLV), two data exchanges (see the paths labeled with the TL/TV/LVarrows), or in single-step fashion via three data exchanges. Ininstances where the user does not submit all necessary data types fromthe home page, one or more intermediate pages 202 are displayed for theuser to submit remaining reservation data. Once the website has receivedall necessary data from the user, a verify page (V) 204 is presentedfrom which the user can review his/her data entries and thereafter bookthe reservation if all is accurate.

FIG. 2 illustrates the “deep-linking” concept by showing how a user canjump to an intermediate page 202 (or even a verify page 204) throughselection of a deep-link. Upon selection of a deep-link, the user isdropped into the website at a stage of the reservation booking processcommensurate with the conditions of that deep-link. Each deep-link isassociated with at least one pre-selected reservation characteristicsuch that the user's reservation will be automatically loaded with thatat least one characteristic upon selection of the deep-link. Because ofthis automatic loading of the pre-selected reservation characteristic,the user can bypass at least one data entry task of the website. FIG. 2provides two examples of deep-links, one associated with promotionaloffers and the other associated with customer profiles.

A rental vehicle service provider at any given time may be offering avariety of “promotional offers”. Such offers typically have a limitedduration and may include a reduced rate for a rental vehicle reservationwith a particular vehicle type, at a particular location, and/or duringa particular time period. Thus, the promotional offer will have at leastone pre-selected reservation characteristic. A deep-link can then becreated that is a URL to an intermediate page of the website wherein thepromotional offer's pre-selected characteristic(s) has already been setfor the reservation. For example, FIG. 2 depicts a promotional offerwith the following pre-selected characteristics: the location is the LAXbranch of the rental vehicle service provider and the time period is adate range (such as a specified weekend). The promotional offer is notrestricted by vehicle type. This promotional offer has a deep-linkassociated therewith, which is a URL for a page of the website that theuser would reach when location and time have been chosen but a vehicletype still needs to be chosen. Upon user selection of this deep-link(e.g., by the user typing the URL into a browser or by selecting a linkembedded into a page such as a page on which the deep-link was placed asan advertisement), the user is dropped into the website at a ChooseVehicle page, as shown in FIG. 2.

A repeat customer for which the website maintains a customer profilewill often have predictable rental vehicle needs. In fact, repeatcustomers that are entities such as businesses, governmental entities orother organizations may have a range of recurring separatelyclassifiable rental vehicle needs. As noted above, these differentrental vehicle needs will be referred to herein as “divisions”. Forexample, Company Y located in Neighborhood A of St. Louis may have arecurring need to rent vehicles in St. Louis. Such a division can becharacterized with the following reservation characteristics: (1) thelocation being Branch X of the rental vehicle service provider (whereinBranch X is the branch location of the rental vehicle service providerthat is located closest to Company Y), and (2) the vehicle type being afull size (which is the type of vehicle that Company Y prefers for itsemployees). This division can have a deep-link associated therewith,which is a URL for a page of the website that the user would reach whenthat location and vehicle type have been chosen but start/end datesstill need to be chosen. Upon user selection of this deep-link (e.g., bythe user typing the URL into a browser or by selecting a link embeddedinto a page such as a page on Company Y's intranet site), the user isdropped into the website at a Choose Time page, as shown in FIG. 2.

Thus, the deep-linking concept of the present invention allows users tostreamline the reservation creation process by alleviating users fromsubmitting one or more reservation characteristics.

In one embodiment of the present invention, this deep-linking concept isapplied to a customer having multiple divisions. A deep-link is createdfor each of the customer's divisions, and multi-division pages arecreated for users to access through the customer profile. Through such amulti-division page, users associated with the customer profile canquickly select which division is appropriate to their rental vehicleneeds and then streamline the reservation creation process for fillingthat need by selecting the deep-link corresponding to that division.FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart for this methodology.

At step 300, the website recognizes a user computer as requesting accessto a customer profile's multi-division page. This recognition can occurin any of a variety of ways. For example, the user can type the URL forthe multi-division page into the user computer's browser. Through codingof the URL as described in the incorporated Ser. Nos. 11/039,203 and10/505,685 patent applications, the website will recognize theapplicable customer profile, the applicable pre-selected reservationcharacteristic(s), and the appropriate deep-linked page to be displayedon the user computer. The rental vehicle service provider can alsoprovide this URL to the customer, who in turn can include that URL as aselectable deep-link into the reservation booking website on an intranetsite maintained by the customer. Recognition can also occur through acookie placed on the user computer. Further still, recognition can occurafter the user has entered an appropriate ID and password to establishhis/her authorization. After the website has confirmed the user'sauthorization (step 302), the website provides the requestedmulti-division page to the user computer for display thereon (step 306).If the user lacks authorization, access to the multi-division page isdenied at step 304.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary multi-division page 400. Section 408 of page400 includes welcome text that provides instruction to the userregarding further completion of the reservation. As explained in greaterdetail below, a site administrator can control the content of section408 on a page-by-page basis. Links 404 of page 400 preferably comprise aplurality of deep-links into the reservation website corresponding tothe customer's divisions. However, it should be noted that all of thelinks 404 need not be deep-links. For example, one of the links 404 canbe a link to the website's home page. Further still, one or more of thelinks 404 can be links to websites other than the rental vehicle serviceprovider's website.

Adjacent to each link 404 is a text section 402. For each deep-link 404,its corresponding text section 402 preferably includes text thatdescribes the division corresponding to that deep-link. In the exampleof FIG. 4, page 400 is a multi-division page for the customer entity XYZCorporation. The divisions of XYZ Corporation are labeled as the AtlantaOffice, the Boston Office, the Chicago Office, the Dallas Office and theSt. Louis Office of XYZ Corporation. Links 404 comprise deep-links forthose divisions. User selection of these deep-links 404 will cause thewebsite to provide the deep-linked page corresponding to the selecteddeep-link's division to the user computer for display thereon. Among thecharacteristics that can be pre-selected through these deep-links arereservation characteristics such as location, vehicle type, renter age,etc.

For example, the deep-link 404 corresponding to the Atlanta Officedivision of the XYZ Corporation can be selected by the user to displaythe deep-linked page 500 of FIG. 5 (see steps 308, 310, 312, and 314 ofFIG. 3). Page 500 is a page that is configured to interact with the userto obtain user input corresponding to starting/end dates (and times) forthe reservation and the renter's age (see sections 516 and 518). As canbe seen in section 508, the reservation's location has been pre-selectedto be the rental vehicle service provider's Atlanta Midtown branchlocation which may the branch location of the rental vehicle serviceprovider nearest to XYZ Corporation's Atlanta office (step 312 of FIG.3). Upon user entry of starting/ending dates/times and renter age, theuser can proceed to a page from which he/she can choose a vehicle typefor the reservation by selecting the view rates button 520 (step 316 ofFIG. 3). Thus, user selection of the deep-link corresponding to theAtlanta Office division of the XYZ Corporation is roughly effective todeep-link the user into the rental vehicle service provider's website atthe TV page of FIG. 2.

Page 500 also preferably includes a plurality of sections that arecustomizable on a per division basis. For example, section 502 isnavigation bar for the rental vehicle service provider's website. Anadministrator can control the appearance of page 500 by controllingwhether the navigation bar is included in section 502. Section 510includes text that is personalized to the customer entity's division,typically identifying the name of the customer entity and/or division.An administrator can control the content of section 510. Section 512also includes customizable text content that can be controlled by anadministrator. Section 514 can be populated by an image, wherein theimage can be a stock image from the rental vehicle service provider oran image provided by the XYZ Corporation to personalize or co-brand thedeep-linked page 500. Once again, an administrator can control whatimage populates section 514. Section 522 includes a footer navigationbar for the rental vehicle service provider's website. As with section502, an administrator can control how this section is populated withnavigation links. Also included on page 504 are two sections 504 and 506that are a “Modify an Existing Reservation” link and a “Enterprise.comHome Page” link respectively. The “Modify an Existing Reservation” linkis user-selectable to display a page from which the user can search foran existing reservation and the “Enterprise.com Home Page” link isuser-selectable to take the user to the home page of the website. Anadministrator can control whether these links are included in sections504 and 506 on a division-by-division basis. The details of suchadministrative control over the content of page 500 will be described ingreater detail below.

Returning to FIG. 4, page 400 also preferably includes a section 406which can be populated with an alphabet navigational bar. Such analphabet navigational bar can be useful in situations where a customerentity has numerous divisions, not all of which will conveniently fit ona single page 400, as will be explained below in connection with FIG. 8.

User selection of the deep-link 404 corresponding to the St. LouisOffice division of the XYZ Corporation is effective to display thedeep-linked page 600 of FIG. 6 on the user computer. Page 600 is anothermulti-division page. Thus, the St. Louis Office division link of themulti-division page 400 of FIG. 4 is effective to display themulti-division page 600 of FIG. 6 (following the flow of steps 308 to312 to 318 to 306 of FIG. 3). Situations such as these may arise whereit is convenient to group different divisions together as a singledivision for display on a multi-division page. The examples of FIGS. 4and 6 depict such a scenario. The St. Louis office of the XYZCorporation may itself have numerous separately classifiable rentalvehicle needs. For example, the personnel at the St. Louis office mayhave (1) a recurring need to rent vehicles from a branch close by (inwhich case user selection of the deep-link 404 for the “St. Louis OfficeRental” division can be effective to deep-link the user into the websiteto create such a reservation), (2) a recurring need to rent vehiclesfrom the St. Louis airport rental branch location (in which case userselection of the deep-link 404 for the “St. Louis Airport Rental”division can be effective to deep-link the user into the website tocreate such a reservation, as described in connection with FIG. 7), (3)a recurring need to rent vehicles from an unknown location as part ofbusiness (in which case user selection of the deep-link 404 for the“Business Use Rental” division can be effective to deep-link the userinto the website to create such a reservation—typically the deep-linkedpage will be the website home page with customization in accordance withthe XYZ Corporation's customer profile as if the user had already loggedinto the website using the XYZ Corporation's customer profile), and (4)a recurring need to rent vehicles for personal use (in which case userselection of the link 404 for the “Personal Use Rental” division can beeffective to link the user to the website's home page as if the userwere a general retail customer). In the example of FIG. 6, userselection of the deep-link 404 corresponding to the St. Louis AirportRental division will cause the website to provide the deep-linked page700 of FIG. 7 to the user computer for display thereon. As can be seen,the deep-link for the St. Louis Airport Rental division operates toautomatically populate the reservation with pre-selected location andvehicle type characteristics (the St. Louis airport branch location andthe full-size vehicle type respectively). Thus, the deep-link for theSt. Louis Airport Rental division is roughly effective to deep-link theuser into the rental vehicle service provider's website at the page T ofFIG. 2 that follows the LV arrow.

FIG. 6 also provides an example of a multi-division page that includes alink 602 to a website unrelated to the rental vehicle service provider.For example, personnel at the St. Louis office of the XYZ Corporationmay have a recurring need to book airline tickets. In such situations,the multi-division page 600 can include link 602 that is user-selectableto cause an airline ticket reservation booking website to be displayed(following the flow of steps 308 to 310 to 318 to 320 of FIG. 3). Asexplained in greater detail below, an administrator can control whethersuch links 602 are included on a multi-division page.

FIG. 8 depicts yet another example of a multi-division page 800. In thisexample, the customer entity is a city government. The city governmenthas numerous divisions with their own separately classifiable rentalvehicle needs (e.g., the Department of Health may need to rent vehiclesfrom the branch location nearest to their offices while the Departmentof Public Works, which may be located across town from the Department ofHealth, may need to rent vehicles from a different branch locationnearest to their offices). Thus, links 404 can be deep-links for each ofthese different divisions of the city government (or links to a nestedmulti-division page that further breaks down a division into furtherdivisions). For a large diverse entity such as a city or stategovernment, there may be a sufficient number of different divisions thatthey cannot be conveniently displayed on a single multi-division page.In such instances, section 406 can include an alphabet navigation bar toprovide users with efficient access to divisions of interest. In theexample of FIG. 8, the user has selected the letter “D” to cause thedivisions that are labeled with a D-word to be listed. A scroll bar canbe used to access D-divisions on the list that are not shown in thescreen. Furthering this example, user selection of the letter “0” fromthe alphabet navigation bar can be effective to list a division ofSpringfield's city government such as “Office of the Mayor”.

Thus, as described in connection with FIGS. 2-8, a rental vehicleservice provider can greatly accommodate the needs of itscustomers—particularly large customers such as entities with multipledivisions—by providing customized pages of the website that are tailoredto the entity's rental vehicle needs and by streamlining users' pathsthrough the website via deep-linking based on pre-selected reservationcharacteristics. While large entity customers are the ones who willlikely obtain the most benefits from this technology, smaller scalecustomers can also benefit from the personalized customization that thistechnology provides. For example, a consulting firm may have 3consultants who consistently travel to different areas as part of theirjob. Consultant A may travel to Chicago 20-25 times a year and typicallyrent intermediate size vehicles, Consultant B may travel to SanFrancisco 30 times a year and typically rent economy size vehicles,Consultant C may travel to Miami 10 times a year and typically rentluxury class vehicles. Even though not a large entity, this consultingfirm may choose to engage a rental vehicle service provider thatpractices the present invention to obtain a URL to a multi-division pagethat includes deep-links for each of Consultant's A, B, and C's rentalpreferences. Each deep-link on such a multi-division page can then belabeled with the names of the consultants to further personalize theconsulting firm's experience with the rental vehicle service provider.

Administrative Control Over Deep-Links and Multiple Deep-Link Pages:

For the deep-links and multi-division pages described above, it ishighly desirable to have an efficient means by which of creating andadministering those deep-links and multi-division pages. Such efficientmeans will allow a rental vehicle service provider to cost-effectivelyprovide the website customization described herein to a large range ofcustomers, both large and small, in a relatively short period of time.FIG. 9 details a GUI-based flow for creating and administering customerprofile-based deep-links and multi-division pages. After anadministrator with appropriate authorization signs in through anadministrator computer such as that shown in FIG. 1, the administratorcan then navigate to page 1000, which provides an overview of thecustomer profiles stored in database 108. Efficient administrativecontrol over deep-linked pages and pages having multiple deep-linksincluded thereon can be achieved by using common templates fordeep-linked pages and multiple deep-link pages, wherein the templatesare segmented into a plurality of sections whose content can becustomized by an administrator through a GUI. Data describing thesecustomized sections is then stored in database 108 in association withthe applicable customer profiles.

FIG. 10 depicts page 1000, which is a GUI providing an administratorwith an overview of existing customer profile divisions. Through field1002, the administrator can search for existing customer profiledivisions by customer number. Administrators can also search forexisting customer profile divisions by name, using the alphabetnavigation browser and the existing customer profile division entries1030 in table 1008. If the administrator wants to begin the process ofcreating a new customer profile division, then he/she can do so viafield 1004 by providing a customer number for the new customer profiledivision.

Table 1008 lists the existing customer profile divisions as rows 1030,wherein each entry includes a customer number field 1010 a customer namefield 1012, an owning group field 1014, a group/region field 1016 and ateam name field 1018 for use in connection with the rental vehicleservice provider's internal management reporting operations, a “createdby” field 1020 which identifies the administrator who created eachdivision, and a “date created” field 1022 which identifies the date onwhich the customer profile division was created.

Upon administrator selection of an existing customer profile divisionfrom page 1000, the administrator can be routed to page 1100 of FIGS.11( a)-(b), which is a summary GUI for a corporate division profile.However, the administrative control can also be configured to route theadministrator to page 1200 of FIGS. 12( a)-(c), which is a GUI throughwhich the administrator can control a variety of aspects of the customerprofile division.

Page 1200 of FIGS. 12( a)-(c) comprises a plurality of sections throughwhich the administrator can control various general features of a user'spath through the website upon selection of a deep-link associatedtherewith. Page 1200 is displayed on the administrator computer whenfolder tab 1104 is active. Folder tab 1106 can be selected to displaythe vehicle control GUI of FIG. 13, folder tab 1108 can be selected todisplay the optional content control GUI of FIGS. 14( a)-(c), a foldertab 1110 for images can be selected to display the image control GUI ofFIG. 15( a) or (b), and folder tab 1102 can be selected to display thesummary GUI of FIGS. 11( a)-(b).

At the top of page 1200, biographical information about the customerprofile division is displayed in fields 1112, 1114, 1118 and 1120corresponding to fields 1010, 1012, 1022, and 1020 respectively of FIG.10. For an existing customer profile division and a newly createdcustomer profile division, section 1116 will identify the URL for thedeep-linked page corresponding to the customer profile division.

Through section 1202, the administrator can specify which page of thewebsite will be the deep-linked page for the customer profile division.Exemplary options include the home page or a page such as page 500 ofFIG. 5 where a branch location has already been pre-selected for thereservation. Through field 1230, the administrator can pre-select thebranch location for the division using a branch location identifier.Optionally, functionality can be added to the page that would allow theadministrator to search and/or browse for the appropriate branchlocation from a list of all available branch locations.

Through section 1204, the administrator can control the countries inwhich the customer profile division will be accessible.

Through section 1206, the administrator can control whether thedeep-linked page will display the customer's name in section 510 (seeFIGS. 5 and 7). When the home page is selected as the deep-linked pagethrough section 1202, the administrator can control, through section1206, whether the customer name will appear in a pre-selected section ofthe home page such as section 4000 shown in the exemplary home page ofFIG. 40. Optionally, section 1206 can also provide the administratorwith the ability to enter text for a customized message to be displayedto users on the deep-linked page.

Through section 1208, the administrator can control whether certainnavigational links will be displayed in section 522 of the deep-linkedpage (see FIGS. 5 and 7).

Through section 1210, the administrator can control the language of thedeep-linked page.

Through section 1212, the administrator can control whether sections502, 506, and 522 of the deep-linked page include the navigation barlinks, footer links, and home page links. Moreover, the administratorcan partially turn on the footer links in section 522 by controllingwhether less than all of the footer links will be appear in section 522.

Through section 1214, the administrator can control whether the renterinformation (RI) page reached by a user who deep-links into thereservation creation process via the customer profile will include adrop down menu that allows the user to identify a credit card type forthe reservation (see section 426 of FIG. 50(a) of the incorporated Ser.No. 10/172,481 patent application).

Through section 1216, the administrator can control whether section 518of the deep-linked page will include an age selection field.

Also, section 1218 can be used by the administrator to associate thecustomer profile division record with a team/group/region for reportingpurposes.

Once the administrator has made the appropriate entries on page 1200,the user can select the continue button 1220 to proceed to the next GUIfor administratively controlling a customer profile division.Alternatively, the administrator can select the cancel button 1222 tocancel the entries made in page 1200.

The administrator can learn of the customer's preferences for thecustomer profile division through communications with the customer. Forexample, the customer can fill out a form (either an electronic form ora hard copy form) that identifies its preferred reservationcharacteristics, and the administrator can then access the GUIs of FIG.9 to implement the customer's requests. Alternately, it should be notedthat the administrator need not necessarily be an employee of the rentalvehicle service provider. In some instances, the administrator may be anemployee of the customer who is given limited administrative access tothe GUIs of FIG. 9 to control the parameters of the customer's profilein database 108.

Upon administrator selection of the continue button 1220 of page 1200,the GUI page 1300 of FIG. 13 is displayed on the administrator computer(which corresponds to folder tab 1106). GUI 1300 is configured to acceptadministrator input regarding the vehicle types eligible for selectionby a user through the customer profile division. Through section 1302,the administrator controls which vehicle type(s) will be eligible foruser selection. Through country bar 1304, the administrator can makethese selections on a country-by-country basis. For vehicle types thatthe administrator does not want to make available to the user, he/shecan select the “don't shown on site” boxes corresponding thereto. If theadministrator wants to highlight one or more vehicle types as preferredfor the customer profile division, he/she can select the “preferred”boxes corresponding thereto. Selection of the preferred option for avehicle type will operate to add highlighting of some form to thebackground of text displayed on a choose vehicle page for that vehicletype (such as the pages of FIGS. 42 and 43 in the incorporated Ser. No.10/172,481 patent application). If all vehicle types but one areselected in section 1306, then the reservation path for the deep-linkcorresponding to the customer profile division can skip a choose vehiclepage because the vehicle type will have been pre-selected.

Through section 1308, the administrator can control whether a link willbe included on a confirmation page that would allow the user to upgradeto the next higher vehicle class for the reservation (see FIG. 53 of theincorporated Ser. No. 10/172,481 patent application).

Once the administrator has made the appropriate entries on page 1300,the user can select the continue button 1310 to proceed to the next GUIfor administratively controlling a customer profile division.Alternatively, the administrator can select the back button 1312 toreturn to page 1200 or the cancel button 1314 to cancel the entries madein page 1300.

Upon administrator selection of the continue button 1310 of page 1300,the GUI page 1400 of FIGS. 14( a)-(c) is displayed on the administratorcomputer (which corresponds to folder tab 1108). Through the differentsections of page 1400, the administrator has the option to control avariety of aspects of the customer profile division's reservation path.Through section 1402, the administrator can control whether the summarysections that are displayed on the reservation path pages (see, e.g.,section 330 of FIG. 43 of the incorporated Ser. No. 10/172,481 patentapplication) will display a promotional link that is user-selectable todisplay a text box that describes a service offered by the rentalvehicle service provider.

Through section 1404, the administrator can control whether a link willbe added to the summary sections that are displayed on the reservationpath pages that is user-selectable to display a web page identified bythe administrator-entered URL. Alternatively, such a link can also be alink to a text box with a customized message. If the administratorchooses to add such a customized text box link to the summary section,section 1404 would also preferably include a field in which theadministrator can enter the customized message.

Through section 1406, the administrator can control whether the RI pageof the reservation path (see FIGS. 50(a) and (b) of the incorporatedSer. No. 10/172,481 patent application) will include a field for userentry of a customer purchase order number, reference number or the like.Such information can be useful for the customer's business office.Through box 1408, the administrator can control whether user entry insuch a field is a required data entry field. Through field 1410, theadministrator can define the label for this user entry field of the RIpage. Moreover, through section 1412, the administrator can controlwhether the user entry field in the RI page will be a free form textentry box or a drop down menu populated with eligible field entryoptions. If the drop down menu option is chosen, the administrator cancontrol the content of the drop down menu through field 1414, list 1418,and buttons 1420, 1422, and 1424.

Through section 1426, the administrator can control what collision anddamage protection products will be identified on the user's verify pageafter booking a reservation (see FIGS. 51 and 52 of the incorporatedSer. No. 10/172,481 patent application) In some instances, a customerprofile will require that one or more particular collision and damageprotection products be applied to all of that customer's rental vehiclereservations. Through column 1430, the administrator can select which ofthese protection products will be displayed to the user on the verifypage as being included in the reservation. Through column 1428, theadministrator can also control whether the price for the selectedprotection product(s) will be itemized in the itemized charges shown onthe verify page. While the administrative control provided by section1426 is informational only, it should be noted that in instances wherethe reservation path also includes a page that would allow the user toselect a collision and damage protection product for the reservation,section 1426 could also be configured to allow the administrator todefine which collision and damage protection product (or range ofeligible protection products) are available for user selection for thereservation.

Through section 1432, the administrator can control whether a customizedtext message will be displayed on the verify page reached by the userthrough the customer profile division. The administrator can enter thetext for this customized message in field 1434 (e.g., “Please rememberto re-fill the gas tank prior to returning the car.”).

Through section 1436, the administrator can control whether an emailnotification of a booked reservation should be automatically sent by thewebsite to a person associated with the administrator-entered emailaddress. This feature can be useful in instances where a customer entitymay want personnel in the entity's business office to be notified of anynew reservations booked through the entity's customer profile division.

Through section 1438, the administrator can control whether the RI pagewill include the user-entry sections relating to email marketing fromthe rental vehicle service provider (see FIG. 50(a) of the incorporatedSer. No. 10/172,481 patent application). Some customers may want to havethis feature disabled to prevent employees from signing up for suchmarketing emails.

Through section 1450, the administrator can control whether thedeep-linked page (or another page in the reservation path after the userhas reached the deep-linked page) will include a user-selectable optionfor the user to request delivery of the rental vehicle corresponding tothe reservation to a delivery location. For some customers, the rentalvehicle service provider may have an agreement that reserved rentalvehicles will be delivered by the rental vehicle service provider to thecustomer's premises when the reservation is to be fulfilled. In suchcases, the branch location that services that customer can be notifiedupon user selection of the “deliver to” option that the reserved rentalvehicle will need to be delivered to the customer's premises at thestart date/time for the reservation. Section 1450 can also include atext entry section for administrator input of a text message toaccompany the “deliver to” option displayed on the verify and/orconfirmation page. Optionally, section 1450 may also include a varietyof other administrator-controlled settings relating to vehicle delivery.For example, the deep-linked page or other page controlled throughsection 1450 may include a field for user entry of a delivery time, andsection 1450 may include an administrator option to enable/disable thatfeature. The customer and rental vehicle service provider may have anagreement to deliver rental vehicles to the agreed-upon location thenight before the reservation is to begin so that the customer will beable to actually begin the reservation first thing the next morning. Insuch cases, the rental vehicle service provider and customer may agreethat charges for the reservation will not begin until the next morning.Thus, through section 1450, the administrator can also exert controlover when charges for the reservation are to begin (e.g., at delivery orat a certain time the next day when delivery occurs after a certaintime). Similar to a “deliver to” option, the rental vehicle serviceprovider and customer may also have an agreed vehicle recovery service,wherein rather than the customer returning the rental vehicle at the endof the reservation period to the rental vehicle service provider'sbranch location, an employee of the rental vehicle service provider willventure to pick up the rental vehicle from an agreed upon location(e.g., the customer's premises). Section 1450 can also be augmented toprovide the administrator with control over whether user-selectableoptions for such a vehicle recovery service will be presented on thedeep-linked page (or another page in the reservation path after the userhas reached the deep-linked page). As with the “deliver to” feature, thevehicle recovery feature can also include user-customizable dates/times,and section 1450 provide the administrator with control over whether theuser-customizable dates/times are enabled/disabled.

Once the administrator has made the appropriate entries on page 1400,the user can (1) select the continue button 1440 to proceed to the nextGUI for administratively controlling a customer profile division, (2)select the “finished” button 1442 to complete jump to the summary page1100 for the customer profile division, or (3) select the cancel button1444 to cancel the entries made in page 1400.

Upon administrator selection of the continue button 1440 of page 1400,the GUI page 1500 a or 1500 b of FIGS. 15( a) or (b) is displayed on theadministrator computer (which corresponds to folder tab 1110). Page 1500a of FIG. 15( a) would be displayed where no images had yet beenassociated with the customer profile division. Page 1500 b of FIG. 15(b) would be displayed in instances where one or more images have alreadybeen associated with the customer profile division.

Page 1500 a includes a section 1502 requesting the administrator toassociate an image with the customer profile division. If theadministrator wishes to do so, he/she can select the “Create New” button1504. Otherwise, the administrator can (1) select the “continue” button1506 to proceed to page 1100, (2) select the “back” button to return topage 1400, or (3) select the cancel button 1510.

Page 1500 b also includes section 1502, but further includes section1520. Section 1520 summarizes images 1540 that have already beenassociated with the customer profile division, segmented by country viatabs 1522, 1524, 1526, 1528, and 1530. Each image entry 1540 in section1520 preferably includes a field 1542 that identifies the page of thereservation path that the image will appear on, a field 1544 thatidentifies a location on that page where the image will appear(preferably each page will have a plurality of predetermined locationsin which images can be displayed), a field 1546 that identifies a sizefor the image location and a number of images to be displayed in thatimage location, a field 1548 that identifies the language for the image(preferably each image that includes text as part thereof will havemultiple copies stored in the database, with each copy having its textin a different language supported by the website), a field 1550 thatidentifies the file name for the image, fields 1552 that identifystarting and ending dates for the image (which can be useful foradministrators to plan in advance which images will be displayed on thewebsite and to prevent old and possibly out-of-date images from beingdisplayed on the website), and fields 1554 in which times of day for thestarting and ending dates are identified.

Administrator selection of the “create new” button 1504 will cause thedisplay of GUI page 1600 of FIG. 16. Through section 1602, theadministrator can control the page on which the image will be displayed,the country in which that image will be displayed on that page, and thelanguage for the image.

Through section 1604, the administrator can control the starting/endingdates/times for image display on the page.

Through section 1606, the administrator can define which image will beassociated with the page. Through the source field of section 1606, theadministrator can identify a source for the image (e.g., the database inwhich the image is stored or a memory location for the image). Throughthe file name field, the administrator can identify the image's filename. Through field 1608, the administrator can control where on thepage the image will be displayed. As noted previously, preferably thepage includes a plurality of predefined available sections for imagedisplay, and through field 1608, the administrator can identify which ofthese sections is to include the image. Through field 1610, theadministrator can select an image location size and the number of imagesto be displayed in that image location. Preferably, up to 4 images canbe displayed in a given location.

Through section 1612, the user can define a URL link to be associatedwith a displayed image. If a link is associated with a displayed imagethrough section 1612, the upon display of the image, the user can selectthe image and be linked to a web page associated with that image link.In instances where an image location will have multiple images includedin that location, the administrator can set different links for eachimage in that location by advancing through the image location positions(by entering the link information for an image, selecting button 1614and repeating that process for the next image). Table 1616 will identifythe URL links that are associated with each image at each position of agiven image location.

After defining the appropriate image display characteristics, theadministrator, can select the “another” button 1618 to add the imagewith the specified display parameters to the customer profile division(whereupon those parameters are stored in database 108 and the image isadded to section 1520 of FIG. 15( b)) and return to page 1600 to addanother image. Once the administrator has completed adding images to thecustomer profile division, he/she can select “continue” button 1620 toadvance to the summary page 1100. If the administrator wishes to returnto page 1400, he/she can select “back” button 1622, and if theadministrator wishes to cancel unsaved entries on page 1600, he/she canselect the “cancel” button 1624.

After completing the GUI pages of FIGS. 12-16, the summary page 1100 ofFIGS. 11( a)-(b) is preferably displayed on the administrator computer.Page 1100 preferably lists the administrator-defined settings for thecustomer profile division. Section 1122 summarizes the general settingsdefined through GUI page 1200. If the administrator wants to edit theseselections, he/she can select the edit link 1124 to cause the display ofpage 1200. Section 1130 summarizes the vehicle settings defined throughGUI page 1300. If the administrator wants to edit these selections,he/she can select the edit link 1132 to cause the display of page 1300.Section 1126 summarizes the optional content settings defined throughGUI page 1400. If the administrator wants to edit these selections,he/she can select the edit link 1128 to cause the display of page 1400.Lastly, section 1136 summarizes the image settings defined through GUIpages 1500 and 1600. If the administrator wants to edit theseselections, he/she can select the edit link 1134 to cause the display ofpage 1500.

If the administrator wants to cancel these settings before activation,he/she can select the “cancel” button 1142. If the administrator wantsto return to the previous GUI page, he/she can select the “back” button1140. If the administrator wishes to activate the customer profiledivision, he/she can select “activate” button 1138. Upon selection ofthe “activate” button 1138, the customer profile division becomes activeand the URL for that customer division profile will serve as a deep-linkinto the website commensurate with the settings made by theadministrator via pages 1200-1600.

As previously indicated in connection with FIGS. 4, 6, and 8, theadministrator can further group together a plurality of customer profiledivisions that have been created (preferably for the same customerentity) to create a multi-division page. The administrator can beginthis process by selecting the multi-division link 1040 shown on page1000 of FIG. 10. Administrator selection of link 1040 will drop theadministrator into the multi-division flow 1700 of FIG. 17.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram that describes the process of creating amulti-division page. The flow starts at GUI page 1800 a or 1800 b, asshown in FIGS. 18( a) and (b). The GUI page 1800 a would be displayedupon administrator entry into the process of creating a multi-divisionpage. The GUI page 1800 b would be displayed if the administratorconducted a search for existing multi-division pages stored in database108 using a wildcard operator in section 1802.

As noted, through section 1802 of page 1800 a, the administrator cansearch for an existing multi-division page by a multi-divisionidentifier. However, it should be noted that additional searchingcapabilities can be added to section 1802. The identifier used in theexemplary screenshots is labeled as an ARC number, which is not to beconfused with the conventional ARC abbreviation used in the travelindustry. With the multi-division aspect of the present invention, theARC number refers to an identifier for a consolidated grouping ofcustomer profile divisions.

Through section 1804, the administrator can begin the process ofcreating a new multi-division page by entering an identifier for such anew page.

Page 1800 b of FIG. 18( b) also includes sections 1802 and 1804, butfurther includes section 1810 which lists previously-createdmulti-division pages 1820 that are stored in database 108. Eachmulti-division page entry 1820 listed in section 1810 includes a field1812 for identifying each multi-division page's ARC number, a field 1814for identifying the title of each multi-division page, a field 1816 foridentifying when and by whom each multi-division page was created, afield 1818 for identifying when and by whom each multi-division page waslast modified, fields 1820 and 1822 for identifying the team andgroup/region associated with each multi-division page (for internalreporting purposes), and “view” links 1824 that are selectable todisplay the corresponding multi-division page. Also, administratorselection of one of the ARC numbers in field 1812 will cause section1802 to be populated with that ARC number, thereby allowing theadministrator to begin an editing process for that multi-division page.

Upon administrator selection of the “create new” option in section 1804,the GUI page 1900 a of FIG. 19( a) is displayed on the administratorcomputer. Through section 1902, the administrator can define the titlefor the multi-division page in any of a variety of languages. The textentered by the administrator in section 1902 will be the content thatpopulates section 408 of the multi-division page (see FIGS. 4, 6 and 8).Preferably fields are provided not only for the displayed title of thepage (e.g., the boldfaced and large font portion of the section 408text) but also for a customized message for inclusion in section 508.Within section 1902, the administrator can also control the team,group/region, and ARC type (which can serve as a reporting label forrelated ARCs) that are associated with the multi-division page.

Through section 1904, the user can control the URL that will be used forthe multi-division page on the website. Administrator selection ofbutton 1906 is effective to create the URL using the coding techniquesdescribed in the incorporated Ser. No. 10/505,685 patent application,wherein the ARC number serves as an additional distinguishing criteriain the URL for the multi-division page.

Through section 1908, the administrator can control the range ofcountries designated by the multi-division page. Preferably section 1908defaults as a general page applicable to all countries, but the user hasthe option of creating country-specific versions of the multi-divisionpage (see GUI page 1900 b of FIG. 19( b) that allows the administratorto create different versions of the page for different countries usingtabs 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, and 1948).

Through section 1910, the administrator can control whether section 406of the multi-division page will include an alphabet navigation browser(see FIGS. 4, 6, and 8).

Through section 1912, the administrator can add divisions to be listedin sections 402 and links 404 of the multi-division page (see FIGS. 4, 6and 8). The divisions that are to be added in section 1912 arepreferably customer profile divisions that were previously created viathe flow of GUI pages 1100-1600 as described in connection with FIG. 9.The text entered by the administrator in the “division name” field ofsection 1912 will be the text that appears in section 402 of themulti-division page. The URL entered in the division URL field ofsection 1912 will be the URL corresponding to link 404 in themulti-division page. Optionally, section 1912 can be configured with abrowsing feature that will allow the administrator to search forexisting division URL's for loading into the URL field of section 1912.The “test URL” links 1932 are preferably selectable to display thedeep-linked page corresponding to the URL entered in the URL field ofsection 1912, thereby confirming for the administrator that the properURL has been entered. Once the administrator has completed the entriesin section 1912, selection of the “save to list” button 1914 will beeffective to add that division and URL to the multi-division page.Administrator selection of the “clear” button 1916 is effective to clearthe entries from section 1912.

It should be noted that it is preferred that the administrator not belimited to entering previously created customer profile divisions andcustomer profile division URLs in section 1912. The administrator canalso use the URL for another multi-division page as the URL in section1912, in which case the multi-division page will include a link toanother multi-division page, as described above in connection with FIGS.4 and 6 where the multi-division page of FIG. 4 includes a link to themulti-division page of FIG. 6. This functionality can be achievedthrough GUI page 1900 a as follows: when the administrator is adding thedivision names and URLs to the multi-division page of FIG. 4, theadministrator can add an entry in section 1912 with the name “St. LouisOffice” and with the URL being a URL to the multi-division page of FIG.6. Administrators can also include deep-links to promotional offers insection 1912. Further still, the administrator can preferably add linksfor other websites to the multi-division page, as described inconnection with FIG. 6 wherein a link to an airline ticket website isincluded. This functionality can be achieved through GUI page 1900 a asfollows: when the administrator is adding the division names and URLs tothe multi-division page of FIG. 6, the administrator can add an entry insection 1912 with the name “Airline Tickets” and with the URL being aURL to airline ticket reservation website.

Upon selection of button 1914, the division and its URL are added to thelist of section 1918. Section 1918 lists as entries 1920 all divisionsand their corresponding URLs that are to be included on themulti-division page. Each entry 1920 includes a field 1922 thatidentifies the division name (i.e., the content of section 402), a field1924 that identifies the division URL (i.e., the URL for link 404), anda link 1926 that is selectable to remove the corresponding division andURL from the list.

To add additional divisions and URLs to the list in section 1918, theadministrator can enter additional division names and URLs in section1912 and once again select button 1914. Once the administrator hascompleted the process of adding divisions and URLs to the multi-divisionpage, he/she can select the activate button 1928 to store the settingsfor the multi-division page in database 108 and make it active for useby users. Administrator selection of the cancel button 1930 will beeffective to cancel the entries made via page 1900 a.

GUI page 1900 c of FIG. 19( c) will be displayed on the administratorcomputer upon selection of an existing multi-division page for editingvia section 1802. Page 1900 c differs from page 1900 a in that theadministrator can create a plurality of duplicate multi-division pagesfor each country and/or language identified in the country and languagefields of section 1904. Thereafter, the administrator can adjust theduplicated page as appropriate to correspond to the applicablecountry/language. Otherwise, page 1900 c operates in the same manner aspage 1900 a.

Upon administrator activation of a multi-division page via button 1928,page 1800 a is once again displayed with an additional section 2000 thatnotifies the administrator of the activation, as shown in FIG. 20. Onceactivated, the rental vehicle service provider can provide the URL forthe multi-division page to the relevant customer entity. Thereafter, thecustomer entity can provide this URL to its personnel who need to bookrental vehicle reservations by making the URL available an intranet siteoperated by the customer entity. Thereafter, users with access to thecustomer entity's customer profile can take advantage of themulti-division page when booking rental vehicle reservations asdescribed in the flow of FIG. 3.

In addition to providing administrative control over customer profiledivisions and multi-division pages, the present invention can also beused to provide administrative control over promotional offers andmulti-offer pages. FIG. 21 describes the administrative flow for thisprocess. After the administrator has signed in to establish his/herauthorization to administer promotional offers, the administratorreaches page 2200.

FIG. 22 shows an exemplary GUI page 2200 that is configured to providean overview of the promotional offers stored in database 108. Throughsection 2202, an administrator can search for existing promotionaloffers by an offer number. While the example of FIG. 22 labels thisoffer number as a customer number, it should be noted that the customernumber in this context is an identifier for a promotional offer. Throughsection 2204, the administrator can also initiate the creation of a newoffer by entering a number for the new offer. Section 2206 provides theadministrator with a snapshot of promotional offers stored in database108, both active and inactive.

Section 2208 lists the promotional offers stored in database 108. Eachentry on the list is a promotional offer, including a field 2210 for thepromotional offer number, a field 2212 for identifying each offer'spromotion type, a field 2214 for identifying the date on which eachpromotional offer was created, a field 2216 for identifying the personwho created each promotional offer, a field 2218 for identifying thelast date on which each promotional offer was modified, and a field 2220for identifying the person who last modified each promotional offer.

Upon administrator selection of either an existing offer or the creationof a new offer, the GUI page 2300 of FIG. 23 is displayed. Folder tab2302 is active when page 2300 is displayed. Through section 2304, theadministrator can control a variety of aspects of a promotional offerthat can be used for internal reporting purposes.

Through section 2310, the administrator can control the applicablecountry and/or language for the promotional offer.

Through section 2312, the administrator can define the pre-selectedbranch location for the promotional offer.

Through section 2314, the administrator can define the type for thepromotional offer. Preferably, the rental vehicle service provider willoffer a plurality of different types of promotional offers, eachtypically having some form of restriction on the dates of use. Section2314 lists a plurality of exemplary reservation types, whosecharacteristics can in turn be controlled through the GUI pages of FIGS.24( a)-(g).

Through section 2316, the administrator can define the URL from which auser who is attempting to accept a promotional offer must be referredfor the promotional offer to be validly accepted by the user. In thismanner, the administrator can restrict the range of potential users whobook a promotional offer reservation by restricting the promotionaloffer reservation to only those users who are referred to thedeep-linked page for the promotional offer from the specified URL.

Once the administrator has entered the necessary offer parameters insection 2304, “continue” button 2306 can be selected to advance to page2400 of FIG. 24. Otherwise, the administrator can select “cancel” button2308.

FIGS. 24( a)-(g) depict GUI pages 2400 a-g through which theadministrator can control the applicable dates for a promotional offer.Each page 2400 of FIGS. 24( a)-(g) corresponds to a differentpromotional offer type and would be reached if the administrator hasselected the corresponding promotional offer type via section 2314 ofpage 2300. When page 2400 is displayed, folder tab 2402 is active.

Through section 2404, the administrator can control the minimum/maximumnumber of on-rent days for a reservation meeting the promotional offer'sconditions, the earliest and latest starting and ending dates that arewithin the promotional offer's conditions, the days (and/or times) ofthe week that a reservation must begin and/or end on to be within thepromotional offer's conditions, and the activation/expiration dates forthe promotional offer on the website. It should be understood that byrestricting the available dates for the promotional offer to a singleday, a deep-link for that promotional offer can have a pre-selectedtemporal characteristic that would allow the user to bypass a pagerequiring user entry of a starting/ending date for the reservation(although the user may still have to provide a start and end time forthe reservation).

Administrator selection of the “continue” button 2408 is effective toadvance the administrator to page 2500 of FIG. 25. Otherwise, theadministrator can cancel his/her entries on page 2400 via selection ofthe “cancel” button 2410.

FIG. 25 depicts a GUI page 2500 (wherein folder tab 2502 is active whenpage 2500 is displayed) for administrative control of variouspromotional offer's blackout dates, wherein a blackout date is a datewithin the promotional offer's validity range that is nevertheless adate on which the promotional offer is not available to users. Theadministrator can define the blackout date(s) for a promotional offervia section 2504 of page 2500. After the administrator has added theappropriate blackout date(s) to the promotional offer, then theadministrator can advance to page 2600 via selection of “continue”button 2510. Otherwise, the administrator can cancel his/her entries onpage 2500 via selection of “cancel” button 2512.

FIG. 26 depicts a GUI page 2600 (wherein folder tab 2602 is active whenpage 2600 is displayed) for administrative control of vehicle typesettings for the promotional offer. Within section 2604, theadministrator can define, on a country-specific basis, which vehicletypes will be included within the promotional offer. It should beunderstood that by restricting the vehicle type for the promotionaloffer to a single vehicle type, the deep-link for that promotional offerwill have a pre-selected vehicle type characteristic that would allowthe user to bypass a choose vehicle page. After the administrator hasselected the appropriate vehicle type(s) for the promotional offer, thenthe administrator can advance to page 2700 via selection of “continue”button 2610. Otherwise, the administrator can cancel his/her entries onpage 2600 via selection of “cancel” button 2612.

FIGS. 27( a) and (b) depict a GUI page 2700 (wherein folder tab 2702 isactive when page 2700 is displayed) for administrative control ofvehicle message content settings for the promotional offer. Withinsection 2704, the administrator can enter a name for the promotionaloffer, message text describing the promotional offer, and text for theterms and conditions of the promotional offer. This content (oruser-selectable links to this content) can be displayed on a deep-linkedpage that would be reached by a user after selection of a deep-link forthat promotional offer. Through section 2706, the administrator canenter the text for various messages to the user that are displayed tothe user after the user makes a reservation characteristic selectionthat falls outside the scope of the promotional offer (e.g., a selectedlocation that falls outside of the eligible locations for thepromotional offer, a selected start/end date that falls outside theeligible start/end dates for the promotional offer, selected a vehicletype that falls outside the eligible vehicle type(s) for the promotionaloffer, etc.) These messages can then be displayed on a Decisions,Decisions, Decisions (DDD) page such as that shown in FIG. 63(a) in theincorporated Ser. No. 10/505,685 patent application. Also, thesemessages can be displayed on the page prior to the DDD page before theuser has entered the reservation characteristic (to possibly avoid theneed to advance to the DDD page). If the user does enter a value for areservation characteristic that is outside the promotion offerboundaries, then the DDD can display these messages in some highlightedmanner (e.g., red text).

After the administrator has selected the appropriate message content forresponding to user input outside the scope of the promotional offer,then the administrator can advance to page 2800 a or 2800 b viaselection of “continue” button 2710. Otherwise, the administrator cancancel his/her entries on page 2700 via selection of “cancel” button2712.

The GUI pages 2800 a, 2800 b and 2900 will operate to provide theadministrator with control over the images that are displayed on websitepages within the reservation path reached following user selection ofthe promotional offer in the same manner described for the pages ofFIGS. 15( a), 15(b) and 16 in connection with the customer profiledivisions.

Next, the administrator advances to page 3000 of FIG. 30 to control avariety of other page settings within the promotional offer reservationpath. Through section 3004, the administrator can define the telephonenumber that will appear on a contact us page for the promotional offer.Sections 3006, 3008, 3010, and 3012 of page 3000 are analogous tosections 1208 of page 1200, 1406 of page 1400, 1212 of page 1200, and1436 of page 1400, respectively. Through section 3014, the administratorcan control whether the promotion is a one-off promotion. A one-offpromotion preferably comprises a promotion that can be accepted onlyonce by a user.

After the administrator has selected the appropriate settings for thepromotional offer through page 3000, then the administrator can advanceto page 3100 via selection of “continue” button 3020. Otherwise, theadministrator can cancel his/her entries on page 3000 via selection of“cancel” button 3022.

FIGS. 31( a)-(c) depict the GUI page 3100 that summarizes thepreviously-entered settings for the promotional offer. Page 3100 canalso be reached from the overview page 2200 of FIG. 22 by choosing toedit an existing promotional offer. Section 3104 lists the settings forthe promotional offer entered through page 2300 (with edit link 3106being selectable to recall page 2300 for editing of one or more of thosesettings). Section 3108 lists the settings for the promotional offerentered through page 2400 (with edit link 3110 being selectable torecall page 2400 for editing of one or more of those settings). Section3112 lists the settings for the promotional offer entered through page2500 (with edit link 3114 being selectable to recall page 2500 forediting of one or more of those settings). Section 3116 lists thesettings for the promotional offer entered through page 2600 (with editlink 3118 being selectable to recall page 2600 for editing of one ormore of those settings). Section 3120 lists the settings for thepromotional offer entered through page 2700 (with edit link 3122 beingselectable to recall page 2700 for editing of one or more of thosesettings). Section 3124 lists the settings for the promotional offerentered through pages 2800 and 2900 (with edit link 3126 beingselectable to recall page 2800 for editing of one or more of thosesettings), and section 3128 lists the settings for the promotional offerentered through page 3000 (with edit link 3130 being selectable torecall page 3000 for editing of one or more of those settings).

If the administrator approves the settings for the promotional offer,he/she can activate that promotional offer through selection of the“activate” button 3132. Upon activation, page 2200 of FIG. 34 isdisplayed (which includes a section 3400 notifying the administrator ofthe activation), and a URL for the promotional offer can be distributedthrough marketing efforts. Thereafter, user selection of a deep-linkassociated with that URL will be effective to deep-link a user into thewebsite commensurate with the pre-selected characteristics of thepromotional offer. If the administrator wants to save the promotionaloffer's settings for later editing, he/she can select the “save foredit” button 3134. To delete the promotional offer, the administratorcan select the “delete” button 3138. To cancel any unsaved edits made tothe promotional offer, the administrator can select the “cancel” button3140.

Because often times it will be desirable to create numerous promotionaloffers with largely identical settings (perhaps only one or twodifferences), a need exists for an efficient way of duplicationpromotional offers. After creating a duplicate promotional offer, theadministrator can then edit the duplicated promotional offer to tweak itas desired.

The administrator can initiate this duplication process by selecting the“duplicate” button 3136 on page 3100. Selection of button 3136 willcause page 3200 of FIG. 32 to be displayed. The administrator can enterpromotion numbers in fields 3202 for multiple (e.g., up to 20) duplicatepromotional offers to be created from the current promotional offer.After entering these numbers in fields 3203, the administrator cancreate the duplicates by selecting button 3204. Otherwise, theadministrator can select the “cancel” button 3206. If the administratorwere to enter numbers in sections 3202 that are already in use, errormessages to that effect can be displayed on page 3200 to allow theadministrator to enter new numbers therefor. If all numbers in fields3202 are available, then page 2200 of FIG. 33 is displayed afterselection of button 3204, wherein section 3300 includes a notificationto the administrator of the duplicates that have been created.

Administrators can also create multi-offer pages for promotional offersthat are analogous to the multi-division pages described above. The flowof FIG. 17 can be used to create such multi-offer pages. Uponadministrator selection of the multi-offer link 2230 shown on page 2200,the administrator is advanced to pages 3500 a or 3500 b of FIGS. 35( a)and (b). Pages 3500 a and 3500 b operate as described formulti-divisions in connection with FIGS. 18( a) and 18(b), and pages3600 a, 3600 b and 3600 c of FIGS. 36( a)-(c) operate as described formulti-divisions in connection with FIGS. 19( a)-(c). However, thesepages may also include a field 3602 in which the administrator canidentify the promotional offer to be added to the multi-offer page viapromotion number. Pages 3600 a-c may also include a section 3604 throughwhich the administrator can define a listed promotional offer for themulti-offer page where section 402 includes a field for user entry of apromotion number such as the promotion codes that are often mailed tocustomers as part of a mass mailing campaign (see the topmost section402 of FIG. 39). Further still, pages 3600 a-c may include a section3606 through which the administrator can control whether links will bedisplayed in section 3802 of the multi-offer page (see FIGS. 38 and 39).After a new multi-offer page has been activated (or an editedmulti-offer page is activated), page 3500 a of FIG. 37 is displayed.

The end result of creating a multi-offer page is a page that appearslike the multi-division pages of FIGS. 4, 6 and 8 except that multipleoffers are listed, although a links section 3802 may optionally beincluded. FIG. 38 depicts an example of a multi-offer page 3800 createdvia the methodology of FIG. 17. As can be seen in FIG. 38, sections 402of page 3800 include a plurality of promotional offers and links 404 aredeep-links corresponding to those promotional offers. FIG. 39 depictsanother example of a multi-offer page 3900 created via the methodologyof FIG. 17.

While the present invention has been described above in relation to itspreferred embodiment, various modifications may be made thereto thatstill fall within the invention's scope, as would be recognized by thoseof ordinary skill in the art. Such modifications to the invention willbe recognizable upon review of the teachings herein. For example, theadministrative tool of the present invention can also be configured toprovide the administrator with control over the rates that are appliedto a deep-linked reservation (e.g., a rate (or range of rates) that isto be applied to a reservation booked through a customer profiledivision or a promotional offer). Further still, while the exemplaryadministrative tool described herein described an embodiment where theadministrator can pre-select a particular branch or type of branchlocation for a customer profile division or promotional offer, it shouldbe understood that the administrator can also be provided with theability to define a range of particular branch locations as beingeligible for selection in a reservation booked through a customerprofile division and/or a promotional offer. Further still, it should benoted that any images appearing on the multi-division pages and/ormulti-offer pages described herein can also be customizable through theadministrative tool of the present invention. As such, the full scope ofthe present invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims andtheir legal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for administering a rental vehiclereservation booking application with respect to an entity, the entitycomprising a plurality of divisions, the method comprising: defining aplurality of division-specific specialized rental vehicle reservationprofiles, each division-specific specialized rental vehicle reservationprofile corresponding to a division of the entity and comprising atleast one characteristic of a rental vehicle reservation; generating aplurality of division-specific deep-link uniform resource locators(URLs), each division-specific deep-link URL being configured, uponselection by a user, to navigate the user to a deep-linked page of anautomated rental vehicle reservation booking application correspondingto that division-specific deep-link URL, the deep-linked page beingconfigured to solicit user input for booking a rental vehiclereservation that already has pre-selected for it the at least onecharacteristic of the specialized rental vehicle reservation profilecorresponding to same division as that division-specific deep-link URL;grouping the generated division-specific deep-link URLs in associationwith the entity; and communicating a plurality of the groupeddivision-specific deep-link URLs to a remote computer for display to auser via a multiple division, multiple deep-link page; and wherein themethod steps are performed by a processor.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising the processor providing at least one graphical userinterface (GUI) to an administrator computer for display thereon, the atleast one GUI configured to solicit input from an administrator todefine a division-specific specialized rental vehicle reservationprofile including its at least one characteristic, and wherein thedefining step comprises the processor defining the division-specificspecialized rental vehicle reservation profile in response toadministrator input through the at least one GUI.
 3. The method of claim2 wherein the at least one GUI comprises at least one input field fordefining a vehicle type for the division-specific specialized rentalvehicle reservation profile, and wherein the defining step comprises theprocessor defining a vehicle type for the division-specific specializedrental vehicle reservation profile in response to administrator inputthrough the at least one GUI that comprises a vehicle type selection. 4.The method of claim 3 wherein the at least one GUI further comprises atleast one input field for defining an appearance characteristic for thedeep-linked page for the division-specific deep-link URL correspondingto the division-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile,the method further comprising the processor defining an appearancecharacteristic for the deep-linked page corresponding to thedivision-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile inresponse to administrator input through the at least one GUI thatcomprises an appearance characteristic selection.
 5. The method of claim1 wherein the communicating step comprises the processor providing themultiple division, multiple deep-link page to the remote computer fordisplay thereon, the multiple division, multiple deep-link pageincluding the plurality of the grouped division-specific deep-link URLs.6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the processor providing atleast one graphical user interface (GUI) to an administrator computerfor display thereon, the at least one GUI configured to (1) receiveinput from an administrator to identify a plurality of generateddivision-specific deep-link URLs that are to be grouped, and (2) receiveinput from an administrator to define a plurality of parameters for themultiple division, multiple deep-link page, wherein the grouping stepcomprises the processor grouping the identified division-specificdeep-link URLs in association with the entity in response toadministrator input through the at least one GUI, and wherein the methodfurther comprises the processor defining an appearance for the multipledivision, multiple deep-link page in response to the parameters inputthrough the at least one GUI.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the atleast one GUI comprises an input field for defining a text label to bepresented on the multiple division, multiple deep-link page to identifyan associated division-specific deep-link URL included within themultiple division, multiple deep-link page, and wherein the appearancedefining step comprises the processor including a text label for theassociated division-specific deep-link URL in the multiple division,multiple deep-link page for display thereon based on the text labeldefined via administrator input through the at least one GUI.
 8. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the defining step comprises the processordefining a pickup location as the at least one characteristic for atleast one of the specialized rental vehicle reservation profiles inresponse to input via a graphical user interface (GUI).
 9. The method ofclaim 8 wherein the defined pickup location comprises a range ofeligible pickup locations.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein thedefining step comprises the processor defining a vehicle type as the atleast one characteristic for at least one of the specialized rentalvehicle reservation profiles in response to input via a graphical userinterface (GUI).
 11. An apparatus for administering a rental vehiclereservation booking application with respect to an entity, the entitycomprising a plurality of divisions, the apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and a memory; wherein the processor and memory are configuredto (1) define a plurality of division-specific specialized rentalvehicle reservation profiles, each division-specific specialized rentalvehicle reservation profile corresponding to a division of the entityand comprising at least one characteristic of a rental vehiclereservation, (2) generate a plurality of division-specific deep-linkuniform resource locators (URLs), each division-specific deep-link URLbeing configured, upon selection by a user, to navigate the user to adeep-linked page of an automated rental vehicle reservation bookingapplication corresponding to that division-specific deep-link URL, thedeep-linked page being configured to solicit user input for booking arental vehicle reservation that already has pre-selected for it the atleast one characteristic of the specialized rental vehicle reservationprofile corresponding to same division as that division-specificdeep-link URL, (3) group the generated division-specific deep-link URLsin association with the entity, and (4) communicate a plurality of thegrouped division-specific deep-link URLs to a remote computer fordisplay to a user via a multiple division, multiple deep-link page. 12.The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the processor and memory are furtherconfigured to (1) provide at least one graphical user interface (GUI) toan administrator computer for display thereon, the at least one GUIconfigured to solicit input from an administrator to define adivision-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profileincluding its at least one characteristic, and (2) define thedivision-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile inresponse to administrator input through the at least one GUI.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12 wherein the at least one GUI comprises at leastone input field for defining a vehicle type for the division-specificspecialized rental vehicle reservation profile, and wherein theprocessor and memory are further configured to define a vehicle type forthe division-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile inresponse to administrator input through the at least one GUI thatcomprises a vehicle type selection.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13wherein the at least one GUI further comprises at least one input fieldfor defining an appearance characteristic for the deep-linked page forthe division-specific deep-link URL corresponding to thedivision-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile, andwherein the processor and memory are further configured to define anappearance characteristic for the deep-linked page corresponding to thedivision-specific specialized rental vehicle reservation profile inresponse to administrator input through the at least one GUI thatcomprises an appearance characteristic selection.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the processor and memory are further configured toprovide the multiple division, multiple deep-link page to the remotecomputer for display thereon, the multiple division, multiple deep-linkpage including the plurality of the grouped division-specific deep-linkURLs.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the processor and memory arefurther configured to (1) provide at least one graphical user interface(GUI) to an administrator computer for display thereon, the at least oneGUI configured to (i) receive input from an administrator to identify aplurality of generated division-specific deep-link URLs that are to begrouped, and (ii) receive input from an administrator to define aplurality of parameters for the multiple division, multiple deep-linkpage, (2) group the identified division-specific deep-link URLs inassociation with the entity in response to administrator input throughthe at least one GUI, and (3) define an appearance for the multipledivision, multiple deep-link page in response to the parameters inputthrough the at least one GUI.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein theat least one GUI comprises an input field for defining a text label tobe presented on the multiple division, multiple deep-link page toidentify an associated division-specific deep-link URL included withinthe multiple division, multiple deep-link page, and wherein theprocessor and memory are further configured to include a text label forthe associated division-specific deep-link URL in the multiple division,multiple deep-link page for display thereon based on the text labeldefined via administrator input through the at least one GUI.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 11 wherein the processor and memory are furtherconfigured to define a pickup location as the at least onecharacteristic for at least one of the specialized rental vehiclereservation profiles in response to input via a graphical user interface(GUI).
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the defined pickup locationcomprises a range of eligible pickup locations.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 11 wherein the processor and memory are further configured todefine a vehicle type as the at least one characteristic for at leastone of the specialized rental vehicle reservation profiles in responseto input via a graphical user interface (GUI).